Ignition-breaking device.



L. I. LE PONTOIS.

IGNITION BREAKING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE23. 1910.

Patented Aug.- 10, 1915.

vqfiorne gm v UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIoE.

LEON J. LE PONTOIS, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR 'IO HUIRD & HAG-GIN, A. CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

IGNITION-BREAKING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 10, 1915.

Application filed June 23, 1910. Serial No. 568,578.

. To all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatI, LEON J. LE PO1\ IT( )IS, a citizen of the Republic of France, resldmg at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga .erators, it is sometimes diflicult to obtain efi'ective ignition in starting. This is due in a considerable degree to the slow speed at which the mechanical interrupters heretofore used are actuated, the speed of the mechanical interrupter being dependent upon the speed of the engine in starting.

By my invention I provide electric means 'which cotiperates with the mechanical interrupting device tosecure a rapid interruption of the circuit at the breaker, irrespective of the speed. This I accomplish by causing the current to'create a magnetic field which acts to open the circuit of the breaker quickly at slow speeds, the opening of the breaker by suchmeans being muchv more rapid in action than is a mechanical interrupter at slow speeds when used by itself. Thus efi'ective ignition for starting the engine may be obtained by utilizing a magneto as a source of ignition energy instead of bein obliged to resort to a battery =or other auxi iary lgnition means for starting the engine. My invention is also advantageous at other than slow speeds owin to the'fact that the magnetic force exerte due to my improvement cooperates with the mechanical interrupter, tending) to give a more rapid interruption of the reaker and improved i ition. Also the advantage is obtained 0 having less friction and consequently less Wear upon the surfaces of the mechanical means for interruption.

These, and other objects and advanta es of my invention, will be understood from t e following description and accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a side elevation of an inductor generator combined with a breaking device embodying my invention, the breaking device beingshown in central vertical sec tion; Fig- 2 is a front view of the breaking device shown in Fig. l, detached from the inductor generator; Fig. 3 is a detail view on the line 33 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a diagram indicating the connections.

My invention may be applied to any of the well known forms of magneto genera tors, and it is therefore unnecessary to explain in detail the constructirn of such a device, but for the purposes of explanation and illustration I have shown in general in the aoompanying drawings an inductor magneto generator which is shown and described in detail in my pending application Serial No. 547,218, filed March 4, J"10. In order to show the application 0. my

present improvement to a magneto generator, such as described in my above mentioned pending application, I may state, that this generator comprises in general a field ele ment 1, having thereon a generating wind: ing 5, shown in diagram in Fig. 3, enveloped by a second winding 6, the windings '5, 6 being connected by the conductor 16 to the breaker. The other terminal of the Winding 6 is connected to a distributer arm 63, from which the current is distributed to the several contacts '70, 71, 72, 73, and led to the spark plugs of the engine indicatedat 77. The remaining terminal of winding 5 is connected by the conductor 11 through the -metal drum 41 incloses the parts of the breaking mechanism and is rotatably mounted upon one of the end frames of theinductor generator so as to be adjusted in position by means of the arms 42 for the purpose of adjusting the time of ignition as desired. The outer end of the drum 41 is inclosed by a cover 43 of insulating material. Fixed to a central partition of the drum 41, but insulated therefrom is a metal bracket piece 44, this piece being held in positionby an insulated bolt 45. The bracket 44 has an outwardly and downwardly extending part 46 which extends out through an opening in the cover 43. A screw 47 engages the art 46 and carries spring-pressed rings a apted to receive between them a conducting strip 48 which serves to electrically connect the bracket piece 44 and the conductor 16 leading to the terminals of generating windings 5 and 6. The bracket 44 at one end carriesa bolt 49 which is adjustable and secured in any position by the nuts shown. The lower end of the bolt 49 carries a platinum contact 50 which forms the fixed contact of the breaker. The movable arm of the breaker 51 is pivotally supported on a stud 55 fixed to the drum 41, the arm 51 being insulated from said stud 55 by the insulating bushing 56. I prefer to make the insulating bushing 56 of hard fiber, thereby gaining the additional advantage of a self-lubricating hearing. The spring 52 has one end pivotally secured to but insulated from the-bracket 4 the other end being provided with a rounded head 57 for holding'thearm 51 and sleeve 56 in position. This arrangement secures the ready removal of the arm 51 from its support. The arm 51 is of soft iron and carries at its outer end the platinum contact 54 forming the movable contact of the breaker. The block 58 is fixed on the upper side of said arm 51 to'coiiperate with the cam 40. A spring 53, shown as a coil spring, is insulated from the casing 41 and engages the movable end of the breaker arm 51 tending to force the movable contact 54 of the breaker into engagement with the fixed contact 50.

Within the lower part of the casing 41 is located a magnet having a coil 80 surrounding a core 81. From the lower end of core 8]. extensions 82 of soft iron extend upward, as indicated in Fig. 1, so as to complete a magnetic circuit from the core through the extensions and thence through the soft iron arm 51, or a portion thereof, to the core 81. It will thus be seen that when a current passes through the coil 80, a strong magnetic field will be created tending to attract the soft iron arm 51 and open the breaker against the pressure of spring 43. The electrical circuit from the movable contact 54 and its arm is completed through the spring 58 through its .lower end and thence by a connection to a terminal of coil 80, the other terminal of which is grounded, the electrical connections being as indicated in the circuits in Fig. 3.

The operation of my improved apparatus will be understood from the following: As is usual in magneto generators the rotor. of the magneto is connected in such relationship to the moving parts of the engine as to secure approximately maximum current strength when the breaker acts to interrupt the primary circuit, the cam 40 also being in such angular position as to open the breaker mechanically at approximately the same period of maximum current. The timing of the ignition is controllable manually or automatically by connections to either of the arms 42, 42, the movement of which changes the time of ignition. When in operation the cam 40 serves to interrupt the primary circuit which may be traced in Fig. 4 from the ground connection at the right through operating switch 19, windin 5, conductor 16, through the breaker an coil 80 to ground. Such interruption causes a high electromotive force to be induced in the winding 6 causing the discharge at the spark plugs in the engine successively as controlled by the distributer. The interruption of the primary or generating eircuit in order to be effective-s ould, as above explained, be-very rapid, and it is obvious that at slow speeds, such as in starting the engine, the breaking of the circuit by the mechanical interrupter will be comparatively slow. By the action of the electromagnet comprising the parts 80, 81 however, the passage of the current in the breaking circuit as it reaches a maximum causes the electromagnet to createa stron magnetic field which serves to give a. rapid break of the primary circuit independently of the action or speed of the mechanical means. Thus at slow speeds a very rapid interruption of the primary circuit is obtained giving eifective sparking in starting the engine. At high speeds the electromagnetic device also assists in giving a very ra id interru tion of the primary circuit and reduces t e friction .and wear of the mechanical interrupting means.

Although I have described one form of my invention, it will be understood that tli'e same is capable of embodiment in various forms without departing from the scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, I declare that what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,-

1. An ignition breaking device, comprising a rotary element, two contact elements, resilient means for securing electrical contact between said contact elements, mechanical means actuated by said rotary element for causing the separation of said contact elements directly, and electromagnetic means coiiperating with said mechanical means for effecting the separation of said contact elements.

2. An ignition breaking device, comprising a rotary. device, a fixed contact element, a movable contact element, a pivoted arm carrying said movable contact element, a

cam adapted to be rotated by the shaft of said rotary device and arranged to move said pivoted arm, and an electromagnet connected in circuit with the ignition device for moving said arm.

3,. In an ignition breaking device, the combination with a generator, of a cam rotated by the shaft of said generator, a fixed contact element, a movable contact element, a movable part carrying said movable contact element, said movable part being adapted to be moved bysaid cam, and an electromagnet in circuit with a winding of said generator and adapted to effect the separas tion of said contacts.

41. In an ignition breaking device, the combination with a generator, of a breaking device comprising a cam rotated by the shaft of said generator, a fixed contact element, a movable contact element, a movable part carrying said movable contact element, said movable part being adapted to be moved by said cam, an electromagnet connected in circuit with a winding of said generator and adapted to effect the movement of said piv oted arm, and resilient means for restoring I electrical contact between said contact elements.

. 5. An'igmtion breaking device, comprislng mechanical means and electrlcal means each for directly controlling the opening of v the breaker, and common means for mountments,

ing said mechanical means and said electrical means.

6. An ignition breaking device, comprising a fixed contact element, a movable contact element, resilient means for securing electrical contact between saidcontact elemechanical' means and electrical means each for directly effecting the separation of said contact elements, and common mounting means for said resilient means and said mechanical and said electrical means.

7. An ignition breaking device, comprising-mechanical means and electrical means each for directly controlling the opening of the breaker, and adjustable common means for mounting said mechanical means and said electrical means, whereby the time of ignition may be varied.

8. An ignition breaking device, comprising a fixed contact element, a movable contact element, resilient means for securing electrical contact between said contact elements, mechanical means and electrical means each for directly effecting the separation of said contact elements, and adjustable common mounting means for said resilient means and said mechanical and said plectrical means, whereby the time of ignition may be varied.

9. In an ignition device, a circuiti interrupter, a cam for actuating said interirupter to close the circuit, and an electromagnet for actuating-said interrupter to open the circuit. 1 f

10. In an ignition device, a current distributor, a circuit interrupter in series with said distributor, a cam-for actuating said interrupter to close the circuit, and an electromagnet for actuating said interrupter to open the circuit. a

11. In an ignition device, a unitary structure'comprising a current distributer, a circuit interrupter in series with said distributor, a contact controlling armature, mechanical means for actuating said i ter-' rupter throughthe movement of said a mature to close the circuit and electrically controlled means for actuating said interruliter to open the circuit.-

In testimony whereof I afiix my signatui e,

in presence of two witnesses.

LEON J. LE PONTOIS.

Witnesses:

B. A. KITTINGER, W. T. HOLLIDAY.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Potentia Washington, D. 0." 

